Phenomenal Cosmic Power
Heist of the Century 1.3

Tattletale stepped out of the back... and froze as soon as she set eyes on me. Fair enough. I kind of expected that.

"Why is it that my power can't decide if you're a thirty-year-old man or a fifty-year-old woman?"

I gave her my smuggest smile.

You tell me. I heard her breath catch. Yes, I'm psychic. I need to know where I can find Dinah Alcott, right now, or getting out from under Coil's thumb is going to be a lot harder for you. By the way, his real name's Thomas Calvert, his power lets him live two timelines and choose which one he wants to keep, and he uses it to torture you on your plans against him on a regular basis.

"Fuuuck," she hissed. She held up a finger. "Gimme a minute."

I couldn't help but wonder what the other hostages - particularly one Amy Dallon - were making of this strange exchange.

I should probably do something to get her out of here, come to think of it. I did not want Tattletale accelerating the timer on that WMD.

Tattletale was rubbing her temples. Thinker headache, I guessed. "We're going to have a long talk later," she promised darkly.

"Looking forward to it," I deadpanned.

She grabbed one of the bank's notepads and scribbled onto it. "Here," she said, shoving the notepad into my hands. I looked at it; it was an address, good. "Now, get out of here. You've got a kidnapping to stop."

"Not without the other hostages." Especially since one of them is Amy Dallon, I added telepathically. Unless you want Glory Girl bringing the whole building down around your ears.

"Women and children only," she grated out.

I considered the offer... but decided to go for broke. "You and I both know you can't afford the heat that would come down on you if you actually followed through on your threats," I pointed out. I'm pretty sure you know how things would go if push came to shove between us, Lisa. Time's ticking away on saving Dinah, and you know I can't just leave dozens of people at risk, even if you are bluffing, to save just one person. Someone could get hurt in the crossfire when the Wards arrive.

She twitched. "You're bluffing."

Is that what your power's telling you? I asked. How old did it say I was again?

I'd noticed a trend among Thinkers; they tended to not think very much, relying too much on their powers instead. Tattletale was no exception. Only, her power - as far as she could tell - was now lying to her.

Her eyes narrowed, and her glare promised vengeance. That... may have been a mistake. She looked out, holding her pistol up. "May I have your attention please? As a sign of good faith, we're going to let the women and children go free. Men to my right, women and children to my left, and no funny business!" She pointed her pistol at me. "Including you, Ms. Troublemaker," she growled.

I considered pressing the matter, but at this point, it was clear she wasn't going to budge.

Very well, I acquiesced as I backed away and rejoined the crowd of freed hostages. Might as well get one last shot in. And don't worry, Ms. Livsey. I don't plan on outing you, any of you. Well, except to Taylor here.

Tattletale's eyes darted to her new teammate.

"What the fuck was that?" a voice hissed in my ear.

I blinked and gave a surreptitious glance. Short, brown, frizzy hair, check. Freckles, check. Panacea. Of course. "I'll explain outside," I murmured.